Never one to follow orders, he makes a quick recce of the building and discovers a large stash of gas masks.
He just does the reporting for himself now rather than for ITN, making an extended recce of the area he intends to write about to get a feel for people and locations – and to search for the clue, often a single scene or anecdote, that will animate the novel.
'I've seen lots of women coming in with notebooks, having a good recce, obviously setting up businesses of their own, and I've had emails from women saying they'd love to run a Sh! franchise, because it could make a killing in the Home Counties.
Whereas in Zara you are duped into unwise purchases by the prospect that since that dress probably won't be in stock next week, you had better buy it now, even if you don't like it that much, John Lewis nurtures shoppers who do a "recce" (and call it a recce) before making a purchase.
And then armed with a shopping list we can do a personal shopping trip – I do a recce first and then go shopping with them, choosing items and putting together outfits.
According to money-saving expert Marc Lockley, it's important to do a recce of the sale, to get an idea of who is buying there (if it's all old ladies, they're unlikely to value your designer castoffs) and to check out the prices of other sellers to make sure you are competitive.
The 2014 race's opening stage - the first of three in England - finishes in the Yorkshire town on July 5. "Giant-Shimano are coming over to do a recce in the next couple of weeks, and they have told me they are targeting the Harrogate stage," said Verity.
Do a recce before you start "I'd advise against doing what I did," warns Dane.
When I first went out to New York to do a recce for Changing Lanes, I stumbled upon this very unprepossessing restaurant called Manducatis.
For a new walk, the organiser will usually do a recce beforehand, taking notes on how muddy it is, how steep and how many stiles there are, so that the rest of the group can then decide if they're up to it.
